Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A remarkable rescue at sea

Photo: Seabourn

The passengers and crew aboard Seabourn Odyssey experienced something truly remarkable on a South Pacific cruise earlier this week. Here's an excerpt from the Seabourn Blog:

On Sunday evening, February 19, Seabourn Odyssey was sailing the
Pacific Ocean some 150 miles southwest of Pago Pago, America Samoa, when
the portside bridge watch spotted something in the distance. Captain
Mark Dexter found no missing vessel reports, but wondered why this boat
would be so far from land. He deviated from his course to investigate
further and spotted a small boat adrift some miles away from the ship.
As they drew closer, they saw three men jumping and frantically waving
their clothing, clearly trying to catch the attention of Seabourn
Odyssey. The ship deployed one of its rescue boats and, after
determining that they were no threat, rescued three fishermen who had
been lost at sea for nearly three weeks! The crew transferred them to
the rescue boat and took them to the ship, where they were immediately
checked out by the ship’s doctor. While they were dehydrated, hungry and
had a few skin sores from the sun, the three men were in surprisingly
good health considering they had been drifting at sea for weeks.

To add to the happy ending, when Captain Dexter notified his guests about what was going on, they passed the hat amongst themselves and collected enough money to buy the three fishermen a new boat. Whether you believe in luck, fate, or a higher power, it's heartwarming to hear about people in the right place at the right time. You can read the rest of this incredible story at the Seabourn blog.